Their lips met in an unhurried kiss, tongues lazily savoring each other's taste, sealing their distinct flavors into the mind as slowly but surely, the embers of passion began stirring into a flickering flame. Hikari pulled away first, leaning slightly backwards to take in the beautiful vista spread below; her hair spread all around the plush cushions like a halo, gleaming with an almost ethereal luster under the light of the full moon right outside the window. Her eyes, those fathomless pools, pinned upon Hikari's in open invitation, summoning her to take and plunder to her heart's content. Her full lips were slightly parted, trembling with each warm gust of racing breath...
"Hikari," she whispered and the lawyer felt a hot spasm rock through her system, effectively distracting her from the wordless adoration as she lowered herself back into waiting arms and eager lips. They kissed again and again but this time there was no more hesitation in her. Hikari reluctantly drew away from her lips, tracing her tongue lower over silky skin until she dipped over a collar bone, eliciting a ragged moan from her companion as her teeth playfully nipped and nibbled until her victim's warm shiver urged her to move on. Lower and lower she drifted, lips skating past open shirt lapels to kiss the soft flesh underneath, tongue happily lapping in the narrow valley between her twin mounds-
"GOOD MORNING TO YOU ALL ON THIS GLORIOUS WEDNESDAY MORNING!"
Hikari jerked upright from her bed with the sudden blast of sound and turned around to glare at her radio, silently berating herself for ever initiating the alarm clock program. Her very rude awakening was soon followed by an equally annoying dance song number and she groaned, yanking over the spare pillow to muffle the infernal sound. "Stupid radio, I was having such a dream for once too," the attorney grumbled under her breath as she swung over the edge. A dream indeed, in fact it was so vivid that she could still feel the physical effects all over her body. "Well might as well not bother scrounging for any hot water this morning." Her scowled stayed in place all through the mind numbingly cold shower and it wasn't until the medicine cabinet swung shut that she actually saw the expression on her face and more importantly, the emotions still running rampant in her eyes.
Hikari sighed and stared into her reflection, snatches of the dream sequence artfully flashing into her head despite her attempts to squelch them down. They were no strangers to her; in fact there was once a time that they dogged her every night and increased her aching misery but the attorney thought she'd gotten over all of that a long time ago. Apparently not, she mused grumpily, a little irritated at herself for feeling this way. It was this stupid case that brought everything rushing back and she found herself cursing the stupid case and her stupid but powerful Immortal client, her three stupidities and the whole stupid world. Anyway very soon this would all be over and these dreams, annoying fragments of a past she'd rather keep past, would vanish back into the pits from whence they'd come. Hikari dragged an impatient hand across the mirror, leaving a five fingered trail of wetness in her wake as she wheeled around and shuffled into the living room.
The first thing she noticed was the smell wafting in the air; a crisp warm burning and hearty sizzling, rounded up by the aroma of freshly ground coffee. Someone was making breakfast. Her stomach growled with appreciation while another rumbling escaped her lips as she quickly ticked off the possible options. It couldn't be mom rising from the grave to bemoan her daughter's living conditions and her father couldn't make coffee to save his live or his after life. The last time she checked she was the only one who had a key into the apartment and the doors were firmly locked. Her furrowed brow hovered between grudging appreciation and flat out irritation as she rounded the corner and came upon the incongruously domestic scene.
Lucy whirled around, frying pan in one hand and spatula in the other, paused in the process of ladling five perfectly done sausages unto a plate to beam at the scowling lawyer. She was dressed in a cruel parody of the fifties era; her blue and white checkered dress barely reached mid thigh and black fishnet stockings encased her legs, ending in six inch heels while over her hair- not one strand out of place - sparkly bunny ears ruined the innocent effect her bangs had attempted to evoke. "Good morning sleepy head, now do you know there's absolutely nothing in your fridge?" Hikari rubbed her eyes and shook her head, bemoaning whatever ‘luck' had drawn the Immortal to her as she walked into the kitchen and swung the refrigerator door open. "Gee I wonder why, oh could it have anything to do with a certain trial with no fixed date or dimension in space? Which color blind drag queen's closet did you raid now and besides, didn't you ever hear them say Leave it to Beaver?"
As usual the Immortal blinked away her increasingly crusty attitude and pointed to the immaculate spread on the table- perfectly toasted bread slices already buttered, surrounding a small hill of scrambled eggs. The lawyer supposed that she should feel a little guilty for being so needlessly vituperative but couldn't bring herself to feel quite charitable this morning, not with the way the day had begun. Hikari found herself drooling and tore her eyes away, determined not to show just how hungry she was but it was a lost cause. Lucy took off her black and red apron but not before the lawyer could smirk over the message-Kill the Cook- and casually slid into a chair, pouring coffee into a cup while she commented rather conversationally, "Now I know what's worse than a trial lawyer, it's a broke trial lawyer without anything in her refrigerator or cupboard and a measly pathetic looking five dollar bill in her wallet."
She looked up and smiled sweetly at the outraged expression on the other woman's face and then her smile tightened and she pointed to the chair opposite of her. Hikari took the message instantly and lowered herself unto it, albeit not without some grumbling and muttering. She picked up a slice of toast and raised an eyebrow. "I refuse to believe you made this by yourself." At that statement Lucy shook her head with a rueful expression. "Now you're just being rude. Okay seeing as my boredom has been lifted for the time being and a certain bottomless pit of a stomach is being palliated let us move on to other things." She raised an expectant eyebrow to the attorney but the latter pointedly ignored her and continued her breakneck devouring of breakfast until a loudly cleared throat made her look up. "What, I know the moment your curiosity is satisfied, this fine spread here will be gone with the wind, so at least let me give my stomach the illusion of having been filled with something."
Hikari lifted the coffee cup and brought it to her lips, sputtering with dismay when the hot liquid suddenly became even hotter, leaving her with singed lips for her troubles. "Wow aren't you the accommodating boss. Anyway I've found the perfect solution to your legal troubles." Lucy raised an eyebrow and leaned closer, resting her chin over her fingers with an expression of infinite patience. "Well then good advocate, will thou be so kind as to impart upon me this perfect solution?"
The attorney shrugged and began looking around her, eventually rising to her feet to retrieve a leather bound book from the living room. "I was reading this about Webber and it hit me." She shoved the book under her client's nose and the latter gave her a bored expression. "Okay you've learned the secret to reading, congratulations and may it do you much good, but how does that help you?" Hikari rolled her eyes at the dripping sarcasm and sat back down, pointing at the illustration that took up a whole page. That is Dietrich Webber, notice anything about him? The figure in question- for some reason, vaguely familiar to her- was dressed respectably in attires the form of fashion back then, and in a classic sitting pose with one hand casually resting atop his cane while the other pressed against the desk. There was nothing particularly remarkable about him or the picture and it became obvious that she had to elaborate.
"Look at his hand, yes the one dangling, what do you see?" Lucy leaned closer and squinted at the drawing. "Well it could be poor printing or this book is just that old, but it looks like there's something on that wrist." The attorney nodded with a smile and produced a modern sheet of paper, upon which a symbol had been drawn. It was an upside down anchor, without the other parts like the rope or hawsepipe. "That is what is sticking out from his shirt fringes; this is a typical tattoo amongst sailors and seafarers." She stopped to give Lucy a pointed look and made a sound of exasperation when the latter returned it with a blank one. "How does it say again that Faustus meets Webber? On his journeys to be free of your clutches and he even traveled as far as the spice and silk islands....on Sea....by ship."
The clock slowly ticked by for several seconds as the smile on Lucy's face widened and became darker by slow degrees until it was a truly menacing visage. She turned to her lawyer and grinned. "I like your thinking."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There was an air of finality and expectation in the courtroom and that made Hikari suspect that the spectators intuitively knew this would probably be the last hearing they would have for this case. It was just as well, considering just how tiresome the whole thing had become by the fourth trial hearing, and she was really quite ready to be rid of everyone involved with the whole business. But for now her counterpart was busy plying the judge with witness after witness, all with the underlying message of just how malevolent her client actually was. Hikari pulled out of her reverie when the figure in question elbowed her in the ribs and passed a notepad to her with a few words scribbled on. She's really doing her best to paint me black, the attorney read with a smirk and glanced up to the petite blonde before leaning down to scribble a reply. Not that she has to work very hard to do that. Lucy read the reply and rolled her eyes, leaning closer to scribble on once more, Hardy ha-harr, I'll reserve my other comments until you get up there and win my case.
The lawyer couldn't help grinning with that response; actually if she could afford to be objective about the whole debacle, having Lucy as a client had not been such a bad experience in the end, after all how many clients actually catered to the welfares of their attorneys? Not to mention her sharp wit and wry personality made her easy to banter with...the attorney could almost- very nearly, in another lifetime- find herself liking her boss.
She quickly shoved that thought aside, stridently reminding herself of just who she was talking about and the very real dangers of going in that direction. Another, even more painful dig in the ribs brought her back to the courtroom just in time to see and hear her counterpart call her own client to the stand. Hikari raised an eyebrow at the move and laughed inwardly; this would have been a credible salvo for Webster, if only it didn't fit too well into her own plans. Now she could sit back, relax and watch the opposition strangle themselves.
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"Faustus what made you enter into this contract in the first place," the blonde murmured, eyes softening with sympathy as the witness seemed to age before her very eyes. He sighed and gave a wry smile before replying, "Human folly you can call it; I was down on my luck and looking for the easiest way to get rich quick. You see I was born into a family with a good name but little to back it up and it rankled often to be the butt of snide jokes made by lesser ranking but wealthier colleagues. Simply put, I was brash and reckless and because of my many accolades in the study of Alchemy and Philosophy, I arrogantly viewed myself as invincible." He cleared his throat and looked away when his lawyer turned around and shook her head. "But you were not."
"I was not, and I have paid dearly many lifetimes over for this blunder. When the-" He looked up and jutted his chin toward the opposing counsel at that, blanching when Lucy favored him with a wink and a smile, "-when He-she...when I was approached with the proposition, I failed to think twice about the situation; it seemed like the perfect solution and everyone would leave happy but it was only after the deed was done that I realized the error of my ways." Annette nodded gravely and folded her arms, walking closer to the witness. "Yes only after you had been placed in the lap of luxury, surrounded by all that money could buy but at the purchase of your own soul- isn't that right Faustus?"
The witness stopped and shook his head, eyes turning contemplative as he stared down at the floor. "I think I realized too late the moment after the deed but back then I rationalized my guilt away. However it came back, stronger and more urgent with each passing day, driving me to sleepless torment until I began taking measures to reverse the contract. I realized that I had sold something which was not mine to give away in the first place and for such a paltry price..."
His words trailed away and he shook his head with very evident regret. The blonde nodded and peeked into her notepad. "And you were redeemed by another." Faustus nodded and continued speaking without raising his head, "Redeemed and the original contract contesting my soul was put on abeyance- as in his own terms. Only then did I realize the full extent of my damage as redemption did not come with salvation and I have borne my punishment many times over." The courtroom was a silent as a graveyard when he was done, all eyes riveted on the pathetic figure hunched over the stand. Lucy nudged her advocate and rolled her eyes exaggeratedly before leaning in to scribble once more, Oh cry me a river.
Hikari couldn't help the snigger that escaped her lips but unfortunately, due to the pin drop silence in the hall, it immediately brought all eyes on her. She stiffened from the furor of a thousand eyeballs, especially one pair that were steeped in outrage, but her counterpart's next question eased her discomfiture. "So now what Faustus, what exactly do you want from this court?" Johannes sighed and finally lifted his head, a wan smile playing around his lips. "All I ask is to be given the chance to right my wrongs. I would give up my immortal state for one lifetime to make amends and have a stake in my soul's situation." He finished with another sigh and his lawyer gently advised him to return to his seat.
Hikari got to her feet afterward and walked over to the middle of the court, glancing down at her notepad for a moment before smiling faintly. "The defense calls its next witness, Johannes Faustus." The room was filled with not a few astonished gasps and murmurs and it took the threat of incineration from the judge to settle things down. Faustus turned a confused eye to his advocate, whose expression mirrored his own, and nevertheless he got to his feet and returned once more to the box. Hikari stared at him for a full minute, head cocked slightly to the side, face devoid of all emotion as she regarded him with the same consideration a predator would give its would be prey. And then she smiled and moved closer. "You say you have learned your lesson, haven't you Faustus?"
Johannes nodded and she nodded as well, "Well you know what they say about fool's gold, actually you should, considering you were quite the alchemist in your day. Let us talk about your redemption once more Faustus." He raised an eyebrow and she shrugged openly, glancing at her notes once more. "You were redeemed from your original contract by a certain Dietrich Webber, is it not? A kind soul who took pity on your helpless situation and advocated on your behalf, ultimately incurring your sentence upon him...which was how you eventually got free wasn't it?" Her innocent question was met with a positive, though nonplussed, expression and the lawyer nodded once more, coming closer to murmur, "So how long did you know Webber?" Faustus shrugged and looked at his hands, "We crossed paths while I was seeking a way to rid myself of my contract and upon hearing my story, he- as you said it- volunteered to be my advocate with my debt collector."
Hikari stepped back and favored him with another faint smile. "I see, so I take it then that you two were friends? I mean you must have been something for you to feel comfortable enough to tell him your story and for him especially to step in, right?"
Her witness hesitated for an imperceptible moment before nodding and she returned his gesture. "So this sacrifice of his was entirely selfless, motivated purely by humane concern for your afterlife - in fact some would go as far as to call it the greatest act of pure love." He flinched and her eagle eyes caught the action, her smile widening as their eyes met for a brief moment before she abruptly turned away. "That will be all Mr. Faustus- oh one more thing-" Hikari turned back and raised up a hand, freezing him midway between rising and sitting, "- Were you ever a seafarer by any chance?" Faust frowned slightly as he considered the question. "My quest for salvation took me toward many paths, advocate." Hikari nodded and walked away, giving him enough time to return to his seat before looking up from her note. "I call upon my final witness for this trial, the soul of Dietrich Webber."
Annette stiffened all over with her counterpart's statement and looked up to meet her squarely in the eyes. The latter's brow was raised slightly as if in questioning, a hard smirk playing around her lips as they measured swords and wills for a full moment, and then the blonde tore her eyes away with a sound of disgust. It was one thing for her opposition to seek a mortal advocate but entirely another thing for there to actually be someone in the world as jaded and depraved enough to take this case. This was the devil they were talking about, and she would have thought the consequences of being affiliated with such an entity would have been quite clear enough for any hapless fool. But apparently there were people out there, filled with enough ambition and greed to blind themselves to the fact that they were dealing with an ancient and cunning trickster. Her eyes flitted over to the figure in question, only to realize the latter had been staring at her all along.
Annette tried to hold her gaze but whatever emotion was hidden behind those veiled eyes was strong enough to send her quickly staring down, eyes watering as a sudden flash of pain stabbed through her head. She tried to quell her rising nausea but failed horribly. This was all wrong- it all felt so wrong but there was nothing she could do. She suddenly felt like a pawn on a game whose rules she had no inkling of and it brought another wave of fear flooding through her system. Faustus must have noticed her consternation because he leaned closer and touched her shoulder, rousing her from the darkening thoughts that threatened to engulf her as he murmured with questioning eyes, "Are you alright advocate?"
Annette took a deep breath and briefly shut her eyes, seeking that thread of serenity she had come to rely so heavily upon as the case progressed, and things began feeling a little better. It was clear now that her opponent had been playing this game all through the proceeding; she'd anticipated their ploy to undermine her client's famously lacking character and prepared for their sympathy card. In fact she'd even depended on it to make her next move. The lawyer in her instinctively realized the dangers in allowing the next witness to take the stand because it could ultimately make or break this case for them. If only she knew what strategy was afoot this time- what was Hikari's motive for calling out Faustus's savior? If only her own client had been so forthcoming with the details of the case with her, perhaps then this would be such an unsettling surprise-
She took her client's hand in a vice grip and leaned closer, whispering earnestly into his ear, "Tell me Faust, is there anything you have left out before now? Think, anything at all that you might have forgotten to let me know?" He took a breath and shook his head. "No advocate, I've told you all there is to know. Why do you ask?" Annette smiled faintly and shook her head, wondering why his reply seemed so hollow, and why that now familiar spark of guilt suddenly reflected in his eyes. "Nothing- let's just wait and see what they have in store for us."
Hikari continued to smile as the formless substance gathering in the box slowly coalsced into discernable features, a familiar feeling welling in her chest. It was the very one she always had during her rgular cases, when she was going in for the kill with the knowledge that her opponent would not surive but this time it tasted so much sweeter. Lucy gazed at her advocate without being noticed, a smirk of satisfaction playing around her lips as she took in the latter's stance; the hardness in her eyes as she stared at her intended victim, the almost vindictive smile playing around her lips...it was a visage as dark as anything she herself had ever produced. Go on my sweet, do what you do best and take your turn in my little game. The trip of the whole thing was that she alone, of all the players gathered, knew the ultimate outcome...